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#5 I suspect Assad has given orders to not shoot at any Chinese-looking individuals, given the aid he's presumably getting from China, and the rebels won't do anything against someone Chinese-looking because they'd prefer to avoid having the Chinese government increase aid to Assad. I just had a peek at the Chinese GDP. It is now larger than all of the Muslim countries put together. ($7.2b vs $6.1b).

#6 The fact that this guy is running around without getting shot tells me that a lot of the civilian casualties are collateral damage from being used as human shields by the rebels. And if this guy consents to being used as a human shield, he will end up a statistic.

#9 Mr. "Half-Samurai, Half-Kamikaze" may have to return home soon iff Nippon finds itself involved in major shooting war agz China come April-June 2013 over the disputed Senkakus. IFF HE WANTS TO BE, STAY A HAPPY "WAR TOURIST" IN SYRIA + LATER IN AFGHANISTAN, HE SHOULD KEEP HIS HIS FINGERS CROSSED THAT SOME KIND OF PEACEFUL COMPROMISE CAN BE REACHED SOON.

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